Memorial plans In 1776,
Nathan Hale was executed by the
Kingdom of Great Britain during the
American Revolutionary War after spying for the United States. Over a century later, Americans began erecting monuments to colonial heroes and emulated
colonial architecture to capture the spirit and culture of the
Thirteen Colonies, a national expression called the
Colonial Revival Movement. Colonel
Robert R. McCormick, founder of the
Chicago Tribune, served as commander of the 1st Battalion,
5th Field Artillery Regiment, with the
1st Infantry Division during
World War I. Beginning in 1927, McCormick led efforts to erect a patriotic statue in Chicago. He believed Hale would be an inspiring hero to younger generations. After initial plans to erect the statue elsewhere in the city fell through, it was decided to install it in front of the front of the
Tribune Tower, the home to McCormick's newspaper. The statue was planned in the years leading up to
World War II, a conflict on the minds of those involved in its dedication. The original statue was borrowed and a plaster cast was made.
Brooklyn sculptor Guido Gargani was chosen to create the statue for McCormick. The parade of cadets began at Balbo Avenue, which had been renamed in 1933 in honor of
fascist Italo Balbo after he visited Chicago. The Hale statue is one of ten statues in Chicago dedicated to people related to the Revolutionary War, most of which are located downtown or along the Chicago River. Other statues of Hale have been sculpted by
Frederick William MacMonnies,
Karl Gerhardt,
William Ordway Partridge, and
Lee Lawrie. When the Tribune Tower was vacated and converted into residential units, part of a $1 billion construction project that will include the
Tribune East Tower, the statue was moved to a space along Michigan Avenue where it is accessible to people with disabilities.
Preservation Chicago has called for the courtyard and the Tribune Tower's adjoining structures, which includes the WGN Radio Building, Chicago Tribune Printing Building, and WGN TV Building, to be included in the property's
landmark status. ==Location and design==